Sports Ministry working for development of rural, indigenous and Tribal games .
Why in news :
- The ‘Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games’ component of the Khelo India Scheme, is specifically dedicated to the development and promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games in the country.
- The ministry has sanctioned grants for infrastructure development, equipment support, appointment of coaches, training of coaches and scholarships under this Component.
- Further, scholarship to 283 medal winners of Mallakhamb, Kalaripayyattu, Gatka and Thang-Ta (₹ 10,000/- per month, per athlete) have been provided by this Ministry, out of which 31 winners (out of 104) in the discipline of Mallakhamb are from Madhya Pradesh.
- In addition, Mallakhamb, Kalaripayyattu, Gatka, Thang-Ta and Yogasana have also been included in the forthcoming edition of Khelo India Youth Games at Panchkula, Haryana.
Disciplines that fall under IGMA
Kalaripayatu, Kerala
- It is a martial art, which originated as a style in Kerala. It was originally practiced in northern and central parts of Kerala and southern parts of Tamil Nadu.
Silambam, Tamil Nadu
- It is a weapon-based Martial Art. It originated from Tamil Nadu and is primarily played with a bamboo staff.
Kabaddi, Telengana
- Two teams compete, each occupying its own half of the court. They take turns sending a “raider” into the opposing team’s half and earn points if the raider manages to touch opposing team members and return to the home half, all while taking only a single breath. If however the raider is tackled and prevented from returning, the opposing team gets the point. The sport is played widely in India, especially in parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Archery, Jharkhand
- It is the sport of using a bow to propel arrows. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat, but now is seen as a recreational activity. It is a skill which was widely adopted across the world, especially in India.
Malkhamb, Maharashtra
- It is a traditional Indian sport in which a gymnast performs aerial yoga postures and wrestling grips in concert with a vertical wooden pole. More than 20 states of India have notified Malkhamb as state sport.
Mukna, Imphal
- It is a form of folk wrestling from the north-east Indian state of Manipur. It is popular in Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur. Matches begin with the competitors holding each other’s belts called ningri. The object is to pin the opponent with their back touching the ground.
Thangta, Imphal
- Thangta is a martial art form from Manipur. Its traditional name is Huyel Langlon. The primary weapons are the thang (sword) and ta (spear).
Khomlainai, Assam
- It is a form of Wrestling, practiced mainly by people of the Bodo community in Assam.
Gatka, Punjab
- It is a traditional South Asian form of combat-training in which wooden sticks are used to simulate swords in sparring matches.
About Khelo India :
- Khelo India: National Programme for Development of Sports, branded as Khelo India( Play India), aims at improving India’s sports culture at the grass-root level through organized talent identification, structured sporting competitions and infrastructure development.
- It is a Government of India programme launched in 2017-18
Recent news :
Khelo India Scheme allocation increases by 48% in Budget 2022-23 ( Feb 2022)
- Government has decided to continue the Scheme of “Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports” over the 15th Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26) at an outlay of Rs 50 crore.